Mass Surveillance

On June 5, 2013, the UK newspaper the Guardian, along with several other major newspapers worldwide, began publishing a series of revelations of spying by the US National Security Agency and its equivalents in other countries, including, notably, the UK's GCHQ. The basis for all these stories was a cache of as many as 200,000 classified documents copied from NSA files by a young computer scientist and contractor, Edward Snowden.

The documents showed that the NSA has severely compromised security systems worldwide by undermining and breaking encryption standards and it has taps and back doors enabling it to monitor and collect global Internet traffic including not only email and Web page contents but friends lists on social and instant messaging networks and much more. The documents also reveal that GCHQ taps fibre optic cables and has intercepted foreign politicians' communications at G20 summits. All of this has taken place without oversight or accountability, and it is clear from subsequent events that neither Congress nor Parliament was informed.

ORG's view

The Open Rights Group believes that mass surveillance is inappropriate, expensive, and ineffective, and oversteps the boundaries of acceptable behaviour for intelligence agencies in a democratic society. In the US and many other countries, the Snowden revelations have led to public debate on the appropriate limits of surveillance; in December 2013 the US published a highly critical government-commissioned report into the NSA's activities including 46 recommendations for reining in the NSA. In the UK no such debate has taken place, and the only government action has been to threaten the <i>Guardian</i> with criminal prosecution. ORG believes that a public debate should take place in the UK as it has elsewhere, and that GCHQ should be brought under proper oversight and accountability.

Blog

Tomorrow MEPs on the European Parliament's civil liberties committee will present their draft report on the Internet surveillance of the UK and USA as well as other EU states. Its recommendations are damning and the UK Government comes in for particularly strong criticism.

Which story will win out? Government and civil liberties advocates are arguing over what the real story is after the Snowden revelations. Is it the Guardian’s irresponsibility and their inability to assess the damage they are allegedly creating; or is it a story about the problems with mass surveillance?

Fransesca West (policy director of Public Concern at Work), Peter Tatchell (political activist), Malcolm Rifkind (Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee), Heather Brooke (investigative journalist) and David Omand (former GCHQ director) discuss their opinions about Edward Snowden and the debate around his leaks.

Zine

Fransesca West (policy director of Public Concern at Work), Peter Tatchell (political activist), Malcolm Rifkind (Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee), Heather Brooke (investigative journalist) and David Omand (former GCHQ director) discuss their opinions about Edward Snowden and the debate around his leaks.

Wendy M Grossman looks at why storing communication data is an invasion of privacy, even if it does not come into contact with human eyes.

Who

Open Rights Group exists to preserve and promote your rights in the digital age. We are funded by thousands of people like you. We are based in London, United Kingdom. Open Rights is a non-profit company limited by Guarantee, registered in England and Wales no. 05581537.